vermagvsviermalConfusable pair

Quick tell: vermag is a verb, viermal is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vermag” is a verb and “viermal” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,617
“vermag” frequency rank
#10,394
“viermal” frequency rank
23011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vermag viermal
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vermögen mit vier vervielfacht; dreimal und ein weiteres Mal; vierfach vorgekommen, durchgeführt

Where the eye mixes vermag and viermal

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. vermag runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against viermal's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
vermag
7 ch
viermal

Look-alike desk: vermag vs viermal

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vermag is [fɛɐ̯ˈmaːk] while viermal is [ˈfiːɐ̯maːl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vermag is recorded at frequency rank #12,617, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmaːk]. viermal is at rank #10,394, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯maːl].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 23011, this pair ranks #1,866,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vermag vs viermal

Shared letters: aemrv. Private to "vermag": g. Private to "viermal": il.

"vermag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "viermal" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vermag ← evrmag · vemrag · veramg · vermagg · vermga · vermmag · verrmag · vremag
  • viermal ← ivermal · veirmal · viemral · vieraml · viermall · viermla · viermmal · vierrmal

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vermag" and "viermal" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vermag" is a verb and "viermal" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "vermag" or "viermal" show up more?
"viermal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,394 in our German list, against #12,617 for "vermag". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "vermag" and "viermal" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vermag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "viermal" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,866,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vermag" and "viermal" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbarg vs vermag". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,866,894 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list